Former WWE Wrestlers Are Latest Sportsmen To File Concussion Lawsuit

Back in September we reported on the rising tide of concussion lawsuits in American sports. Football, hockey and soccer have their own controversies, with a $765 million settlement proposed by the National Football League being criticized by many former players as providing too little compensation in light of the seriousness of the injuries. The scope of the problem of concussions in sports is still only now becoming clear, with Forbes reporting that NFL players have a 30% chance of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. Litigation continues against the National Hockey League, with cases consolidated in Minnesota even as the NHL seeks to dismiss the suits.

Well, now there’s a new player in town – and this time, it’s the WWE that’s facing criticism. World Wrestling Entertainment has been hit with a class action lawsuit from two former wrestlers -“Big” Vito Lograsso and Evan Singleton, also known as Adam Mercer. The suit, filed in Pennsylvania, claims that the men suffered multiple traumas, including head injuries, during 15 matches performed for WWE. Specifically, the suit accuses the WWE of allowing the performers to continue wrestling after “inadequate rest time” and despite having suffering obvious injuries, which Singleton claims the organization routinely downplayed. As a result of WWE’s alleged negligence, Singleton now suffers from severe neurological symptoms, the lawsuit says. Vito Lograsso claims his WWE career has left him with “serious neurological damage, including severe headaches, memory loss, depression and anxiety, as well as deafness.”

At the heart of the potential class action’s claims are allegations that WWE “negligently or purposefully failed to diagnose concussions” in players – a claim that both the NFL and NHL have faced. According to the complaint:

The suit also cites evidence from two former wrestlers, Chris Benoit and Andrew “Test” Martin, who were found after their deaths to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain condition often found in those with a history of head trauma.

In a statement to ABC news, WWE officials denied concealing medical information and vowed to contest the lawsuit “vigorously.”

Whatever the fate of the WWE suit, one thing is becoming painfully clear: American sports have a concussion problem, whether it’s that players are being harmed without knowing the full risks or that sports leagues and managers are turning a blind eye to injuries and their consequences. While all athletes accept the inherent risks of taking part in professional sports, doing so in an environment that encourages individuals to continue at the risk of their lives is an unacceptable price to pay for what is, in the end, entertainment. Increased accountability, education and medical assistance are needed, and if lawsuits are the only way to get sports governing bodies to sit up and take notice, then we may well see more filed in the near future – and that can only be a good thing.